Ralph Smedley Spoke Volumes In Starting Toastmasters

If the digital economy has taught us anything, it's that connections scale.

One friend emails another, one blogger tweets, and in a single day the video they saw has gone viral and grabbed millions of views.

The challenge is turning those hits into business.

Ralph Smedley persevered until Toastmasters International popped up in 1924 in Santa Ana, Calif., on the way to spreading worldwide. Courtesy of... View Enlarged Image

Is it a true connection, one that will endure and spell opportunity, or will another fleeting, sugary distraction replace it the next day?

A century before YouTube or Twitter or Facebook (FB), an unassuming Midwesterner launched his own connection economy, in a way that has brought lasting results to those in the fold.

He was Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters International, who may — even still — have a wider influence than social media. After all, TI members have met in an ice cave in Antarctica.

Toastmasters, headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., is a global nonprofit that delivers education for speaking and leadership skills.

Its success — with 14,350 clubs, a 33% jump in revenue to $32 million in 2012 and 20 straight years of positive growth — is due to the bedrock principles Smedley (1878-1965) instituted from the beginning.

Smedley's Keys

Created the first global organization for developing leaders and top communicators, from politicians and Olympic athletes to CEOs and generals.

Overcame: Twenty years of failed attempts.

Lesson: The best way to progress is to help others advance. Persist in your vision.

"The deepest job of belonging comes as one learns to cooperate, contribute and help."

If the digital economy has taught us anything, it's that connections scale.

One friend emails another, one blogger tweets, and in a single day the video they saw has gone viral and grabbed millions of views.

The challenge is turning those hits into business.

Ralph Smedley persevered until Toastmasters International popped up in 1924 in Santa Ana, Calif., on the way to spreading worldwide. Courtesy of... View Enlarged Image

Is it a true connection, one that will endure and spell opportunity, or will another fleeting, sugary distraction replace it the next day?

A century before YouTube or Twitter or Facebook (FB), an unassuming Midwesterner launched his own connection economy, in a way that has brought lasting results to those in the fold.

He was Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters International, who may — even still — have a wider influence than social media. After all, TI members have met in an ice cave in Antarctica.

Toastmasters, headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., is a global nonprofit that delivers education for speaking and leadership skills.

Its success — with 14,350 clubs, a 33% jump in revenue to $32 million in 2012 and 20 straight years of positive growth — is due to the bedrock principles Smedley (1878-1965) instituted from the beginning.

Smedley's Keys

Created the first global organization for developing leaders and top communicators, from politicians and Olympic athletes to CEOs and generals.

Overcame: Twenty years of failed attempts.

Lesson: The best way to progress is to help others advance. Persist in your vision.

"The deepest job of belonging comes as one learns to cooperate, contribute and help."

Undeterred, Smedley introduced his idea on the West Coast after a career move to San Jose, Calif., in 1919. Although the failure pattern continued — launch, move, dissolve — so did Smedley.

He persisted with his vision until finally, in Santa Ana in 1924, nearly 20 years after his first attempt, one group took root. Toastmasters International was born.

That chapter, the Smedley No. 1 Club, still meets every first and third Tuesday.

By the time his idea was germinating in California, it had expanded beyond a confidence-building experiment for YMCA youth.

Business professionals saw that Smedley's approach could boost their ability to communicate — and to lead. "That's the secret of Toastmasters," said Paul Clark, an Orange County, Calif., historian who carries the title Distinguished Toastmaster. "Everyone thinks, 'Oh, I'll go there and learn how to speak.' But suddenly you're not only learning how to speak; you're learning how to be a leader."

Said Rex: "At first that started as a byproduct of the program, but very soon Smedley realized that communication is a necessary part of leadership. You can be a good speaker without being a good leader. But you can't be a great leader without being a great communicator."

Public speaking is regularly cited as everyone's No. 1 fear. Three of four people rank it even more powerful than the fear of dying.

As Jerry Seinfeld says, "That means that the average person at a funeral would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy."

In Smedley's philosophy, that fear turns into opportunity. Since strangers represent a threat (according to our biology), he simply transformed strangers into members of a tribe. They would convey support, cooperation, attention and help in a relaxed atmosphere, and everyone involved would benefit from the experience.

"We learn best in moments of enjoyment," as Smedley put it.

The ideal delivery, he found, was a conversational one — nothing bombastic or overly staged.

Presidential Pitch

He cited the fireside chats of Franklin Roosevelt and the folksy charm of Will Rogers as superior speechmaking, since they spoke to millions just as though they were speaking with a friend.

Toastmasters is a laboratory where members experiment with voice inflection, body language and words to see what works.

"The culture of collaboration is just ingrained," Rex said. "It is supportive enough to get someone to return to give another speech, but constructive enough to provide the value to help them improve over time. I've been to meetings in Dubai and Malaysia and Australia, and they all function nearly exactly the same as Toastmasters did back in the 1930s and 1940s."

On the eve of Toastmasters' 90th anniversary, the connection economy that Smedley created is still working because the product is ongoing skill development.

"Education is our business. It has been so from the beginning," he said.

Using a learn-by-doing approach, Toastmasters teaches its members how to engage — through strong presentation skills and by honing listening skills.

Link To The Present

That ability to engage remains the primary asset in business relationships, especially in a digital world. Technology has so expanded the marketplace that consumers can select where they will put their attention.

Who gets heard? Which voice penetrates through the noise?

Answer: those with a strong narrative and those we can trust.

That's what Smedley aimed to develop.

In the 1920s he banded the assorted clubs in Southern California into a federation. Along the way he published manuals that still stand as the organization's guidelines.

With consistency in methods established, the organization incorporated in 1930, qualifying as international because of one club in British Columbia.

Now it really is global.

Going to Kathmandu? You will find Toastmasters there — and in 122 countries, as diverse as Taiwan, Argentina, India, Singapore and Scotland.

Members themselves keep it all going, with support from TI's 125 employees.

When Smedley finally left the YMCA in 1941 to devote his energy full time to Toastmasters, much of it was spent corresponding with new chapters across the world.

He tirelessly shared his insights in thousands of handwritten letters. In 1950 his alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University, presented him a doctorate of humane letters in recognition of his impact in hundreds of communities.

A leader looks at what is possible, takes risks to get there and brings others along. Ralph Smedley lived those qualities — and built a leadership factory.

Politicians, generals, actors, CEOs, members of Parliament, rock stars, authors, athletes, coaches, astronauts and college students have all gained from the connections he created.

Connections that continue to multiply. With 4 million participants and counting, Toastmasters is proof that this modest businessman knew how to make his actions and words speak loud and clear.

See Also

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